Germany v Greece - Crowd Watch!

Easy task today, I just had to look at the crowd during the Germany Greece game!  Simple.  Luckily for me, the TV directors at Euro 2012 seem intent on showing as many crowd shots as possible, so writing about the crowd is a relatively easy task.  Admittedly, 90% of the crowd shots are of pretty ladies
wearing very little, but hey I can't argue with the directors.

Pre match, there were 2 gigantic flags on display behind the goals.  I've been to 3 international tournaments, but never been under the flag  It's on my football fan "to do list", which may seem slightly odd, but then again so are most of the items on my list (That's for another blog!).  The Greek flag was upside down but I guess that's a bit hard to a) notice and b) rectify, when you're one of the 2,000 people underneath it.  The slightly bigger German flag looked like it was made of some kind of waterproof material, a useful thing to have should a storm occur during the match. I scored the flag contest as a small victory for the German fans.

Fancy dress is another common occurrence at major tournaments, and this game was no different.  The Greek fans were leading the way on this front with a number of supporters wearing gladiatorial attire.  I'm always amazed that some of the items of clothing are allowed into the ground, given the extensive list of prohibited items, it seems odd that helmets are allowed in.  See also the trumpet that a German fan was carrying. Surely you can do more harm (and not just to ears) with a trumpet then a plastic bottle of water?

The exception that proves
the rule!

Like most fans, I'm not endeared by the Countdown to Kick Off.   It's another of the artificial, crowd rousing methods that are creeping into the sport.  Football fans don't need to be told when to cheer or when to get excited.  We don't need to hear Tom Harks after a goals has been scored and we certainly don't need to be told when kick off is approaching!  Having said that, a fair few fans seem to think it's fun to join in with the kick off countdown, so maybe I'm in the minority.


Not surprisingly, the German fans were larger in number and volume, as their team dominated throughout.  There were plenty of shots of attractive German fans  - often wearing face paint - whenever there was a goal, but equally there were many shots of sad looking attractive Greek women with tears running down their flag.  In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if the cameras miss a goal at some point in the competition for this reason.

Overall, though it was a great atmosphere and a fun game of football.  Crowds are an important element of football and the wonderful atmosphere at the majority of games over the last 2 weeks has helped make it a memorable tournament.